Celebrity Deathmatch: "Stand-Up vs. Smack Down"Review

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Deathmatch gets back on track with a no-nonsense gorefest!

By Dan Iverson

After a couple of un-spectacular weeks of Celebrity Deathmatch, I am glad to say that they might have found the formula to put the show back onto the straight and narrow. Unlike the setup for all the other episodes this season, Deathmatch did away with the lengthy interviews and opted for entrances for the celebrities. Even though the interviews have been the most entertaining portions of the past few episodes, it was very nice to have longer matches, with more pertinent comedy in the ring. I don't know if this is a permanent change to the flow of the show, but in my opinion it may be a change for the better.

Starting off this week, we get a look at our match-ups. In the battle for the best customizer on cable we get Paul Teutul Sr. of American Chopper fame vs. Pimp My Ride's Xzibit; Funnyman Jack Black vs. Jack White of The White Stripes; and the battle of the Rocks with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson vs. Chris Rock.

Immediately riding out to the ring for the first match are Paul Teutul on one of his custom choppers, and Xzibit in a pimped out automobile. It seems funny not having an interview segment, but I believe it may be for the better. Starting out the match Mills Lane rolls up in his motorized wheelchair (a Rascal), only to have Teutul and Xzibit one up each other in the customization of the vehicle. After Mills Lane peels out of the ring, the two competitors trade insults and start to hammer away at each other. Although not the most brutal match I have seen, it was pretty gory and the action was better than usual. But even better than the action was Johnny Gomez's bombs of jokes - which he would deliver in confidence only to go flat. He chalks up his bad jokes to the SNL writing staff and the FOX News team. The end of the match eventually comes when the hand and foot-less Teutul grows his handlebar mustache out to an extraordinary length, and proceeds to pull Xzibit apart with his facial hair. A pretty odd ending, but the match was funny enough to make up for any odd ending they threw into the mix.

The second fight was Jack Black vs. Jack White. I'm not particularly big on either of these two guys, and it was nice to see Deathmatch dish out just the right amount of ridicule to these two. The top subjects were Jack Black's insanity and Jack White's lack of musical talent and weird (either affectionate or incestuous) relationship with his sister/ex-wife Meg White. As for the match, it was full of brutality and bloody violence - as all good Deathmatch matches should. The end came when Jack White fitted Jack Black with a small white shirt, which choked Black to death (and blew his head clean off). Although nothing was really memorable, the match was still pretty fun.

The main event for the show pitted Dwayne Johnson vs. Chris Rock. In the only interview segment, Chris Rock gets less than a minute to do some stand-up and mock the crowd. This leads to The Rock's entrance from the ceiling in a giant boulder; garbed in an outfit similar to The Scorpion King, Dwayne looked about twice the size as Chris. Before the match (and also during) Sean Penn comes on the screen to explain things for the audience, only to have Mills Lane knock him out his second time. I may not be a big fan of Penn, but I really don't understand why they would waste a use of the actor in a small bit role (that doesn't make much sense), instead of placing him in the ring in another episode. The match itself however, was quite fun, and in true Celebrity Deathmatch style the small guy overcomes the big guy after getting beat on for the majority of the match. Chris Rock's victory came when he shot himself off the ropes like an arrow through The Rock. Once again, this wasn't the best match, but it was funny and the action was in a higher volume than the past few shows.

At the end of the show, Celebrity Deathmatch had a voting ballot for what match-ups that you would want to see on the show. The voting for these matches can be seen at MTV2.com, and include some pretty humorous choices. After the ballot, they showed the matches for next week, including: Chris Farley vs. Horatio Sanz, Christian Bale vs. Adam West, Jamie Foxx vs. Redd Foxx, and a Deathmatch contestant gets punk'd.

Personally, I liked this show. It definitely wasn't one of Celebrity Deathmatch's better outings, but the action was violent, and the humor was really funny (unlike the relatively unfunny past couple weeks). My favorite match of the night was probably The Rock vs. Chris Rock, as there were some great lines and bits - including a really humorous bit where The Rock cuts out Chris Rock's tongue, and Chris trying to talk, only to have the show subtitle his banter with lines from Hamlet. As a whole the show was good, but not great, which hopefully they will remedy with their new layout. I just hope that this new format of getting right to the matches sticks around, as I think that it showcases the strength of Celebrity Deathmatch - the matches - much better.

If you missed this episode and want to see the highlights, stop by MTV2's webpage as they stream most all of the show in easy to navigate chapters, with no signing up or membership necessary.